This invention relates to the clothing arts and more specifically to a system that allows multiple adjustments to be made in sleeve and pant lengths. The system is fast and easy for anyone without tailoring skills to use, and the appearance of the garment is the same both before and after the adjustment. The system is particularly applicable to rental clothing (i.e., formal wear), since it frequently is necessary to adjust the length of the pant legs or jacket sleeves to conform to the individual's leg and/or arm length. However, the system also may be used to adjust the length of skirts, dresses and other items of clothing.
The traditional and typical method of adjusting the length of garments involves measuring the individual's inseam or outseam length (for pants) or arm length (from the nape of the neck in the center of the back, over the top of the shoulder down the arm to the wrist bone), and then to hem the garment to the predetermined length. To do this, the garment is folded inwardly until the desired length is reached and then this fold is stitched to the inside of the garment with a stitch such as the blind stitch. Next, the garment is usually pressed to provide a tailored edge.
This traditional method is costly, time-consuming and requires tailoring skills. Furthermore, each time an individual with different length arms and/or legs wears the garment, it is necessary to remove the stitching, readjust the length, and then restitch the hem and repress the garment.
Several solutions have been proposed using various means to effect the adjustment, such as hook and loop material (in either horizontal or vertical strips, or in circular patches), zippers and slide fasteners, permanent and removable stitching, and other fasteners such as snaps and buttons. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,985,936; 4,896,379; 4,200,938; 4,573,218; 3,665,516; 4,259,751; 3,111,681; 3,156,928; 3,170,167; 4,241,461; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,275. One solution uses a detachable separately formed cuff. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,001. The Jones U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,936 uses a number of thin vertically elongated adjuster strips of the hook and loop variety attached to the inside of the garment (i.e., the pant leg). Four strips of the hook and loop material are attached to each pant leg. The garment is then folded to the proper length and the hook material is secured to the loop material.
None of these solutions has been adopted on a wide-spread commercial basis. The reason is believed to be because the bulk added by most fasteners is aesthetically unacceptable and the methods employing removable stitching make multiple adjustments tedious and require tailoring skills.
Therefore, it is the object of this invention to provide a system for the adjustment of garment length that can be used repeatedly, does not require any special tailoring skills, and does not add perceptible bulk to the garment.
One further object of this invention is to provide an adjustment system for garments which is integral with the garment itself and which is virtually concealed from the public or the wearer. It further allows the adjustment in the length of trouser legs, trouser waistbands, jacket sleeve lengths, jacket body length and skirt length in a very simple manner.
These and other advantages and objects of this invention will become apparent from the following disclosure and defined in the appended claims.